


Birthday Present

by makomaragi



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: F/F, Family Feels, Femslash February 2014, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, LGBTQ Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 06:56:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18047714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makomaragi/pseuds/makomaragi
Summary: Fennel goes with Professor Juniper to visit her mom for her birthday. (Originally written for Femslash February in 2014)





	Birthday Present

Having Aurea pick her up at the docks in the evening was an event the scientist looked forward to. It was exhausting waking up at the near crack of dawn to catch the ferry to Castelia, and Fennel was quite happy to trade the few hours of sleep for her new home in Nuvema most days. It was inconvenient at times, and she supposed she’d eventually work out relocating her lab closer to home, but for now it all worked out just fine.

Sometimes the professor was standing on the docks awaiting for her arrival, sometimes she waited in the jeep, mostly depending on how late or early she was in getting there, or the weather. That evening, Fennel found her in the jeep, despite how brightly the sun was shining. The professor must have been deep in her thoughts, pulled from her stare out the window and looking rather caught off guard when Fennel knocked on the passenger side window before taking her seat.

“I’ll drop you off at home since I know you’re probably tired and hungry, but I need to run some errands. I’ll be home later,” the professor said without any of her usual greetings beforehand.

“It’s okay, we can just go on the way home,” Fennel shrugged, situating her bags by her feet. “I’m not that tired, actually. We can go out to dinner when we’re done.”

Aurea hesitated in meeting her glance, furrowing her brows with pursed lips, “I, um…” she sat back in her seat a bit, staring off. “I’d rather go by myself, if that’s okay.”

“Are you mad at me?” Fennel drew her conclusion without thinking much of it or allowing the other woman to explain if she had meant to, posed as an honest question than an accusation. “You were short with me all morning, and I let it go because I figured we were both just tired, and I thought you’d be over it by now, but I’d really rather you tell me what I did if you’re still being pissy over it.”

The brunette scowled in offense, “Not everything is a result of what you did or didn’t do, Fennel,”

So she wasn’t upset with her. Maybe she hadn’t slept well the night before, maybe she had a bad day at the lab, but it didn’t explain her avoidance that morning, or even now. Maybe she was thinking too much in to it. Fennel usually prided herself at being able to pick up when something was on the professor’s mind, but having not seen her all day, it was difficult to say what she had been so distant in their interactions over, much less if there was anything on her mind at all and she merely didn’t feel well.

“Are you okay?” the scientist offered with genuine concern after mulling over the possibilities, deciding at best, Aurea would elaborate later.

“Yeah,” Aurea nodded, seemingly no intention of going anywhere soon, certainly no rush on completing her errands. She could feel Fennel’s stare still on her despite that she wasn’t facing her, letting out a sigh in knowing the other woman wouldn’t accept that answer. For now she might, but later she’d be prying at her again. “It’s my mom’s birthday today. Or would have been, I guess.”

With that, Fennel had put it together; the professor had no errands at all, she knew exactly where her premeditated destination was, feeling guilty for considering anything otherwise.. Fennel set a hand over hers, not recalling seeing anything marked on the calendar. Aurea was horrendous at remembering specific dates, there had to have been some indication to it that she would have seen. Unless, this one, she truly did know by heart.“I’m sorry, Aurea…”

“Don’t say you’re sorry. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“Well, I don’t know what else I’m supposed to say,” Fennel sighed, though came to the realization it was the same thing she always said, or anyone really, on the subject of her late mother. Aurea rarely spoke about her, and Fennel never asked. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, not wanting to bring up the subject on her own out of respect, not wanting to offend her in that she truly couldn’t relate or identify with what Aurea did have to say about the matter. Both of Fennel’s parents were still alive and well and she couldn’t imagine it any other way ,nor did the professor hold any of it against her.

“I’d like to go with you, if that’s okay.” Fennel began to bring their silence to an end. “We can stop in town and get some flowers, if you want.” It wasn’t out of obligation that Fennel made the suggestion, but truly thinking it would be a nice birthday present, if that’s what Aurea was going to do anyway.

“Okay,” Aurea nodded without making eye contact, not certain why she hadn’t even considered inviting Fennel initially. She had always regarded going to the cemetery as a closely personal experience for reasons she never lingered on. When her father was visiting, they’d make the trip together, but other than that save the one time she had brought Fennel, this was something she preferred to do alone. The thoughts never consumed her, coming up at intervals throughout her accomplishments, but never dwelling on them day to day. She wouldn’t say she was depressed over it having long accepted the fact, but some relevant days, the thoughts made themselves more prevalent than others.

None of the information was new to Fennel, nothing she had to process and register, nor had Aurea’s mother died recently. And yet, she still had no clue what to say as they stood in front of the tombstone. Fennel never met her, only knowing the little she did about her from what Aurea and her father had said a few times when it came up. It may have well been the first time all over again, staring mostly at the year she died, leaving Aurea at hardly seven years old.

The professor knelt down, plucking a few stray weeds from around the grave, lying the flowers down before it, running her fingers through them. Fennel had suggested she picked the most colorful bunch, and she had; choosing a large bouquet of brightly colored lillies, much less depressing than the all white ones she usually decided on.

“It’s weird,” Juniper started as she picked herself up, dusting off her knees and skirt. “I don’t….even feel sad anymore over it, I don’t think. I think now it’s more….wondering. I wonder what things would have been like if she were still around, and wondering what she’d say about this or that. I just don’t like not knowing things, I guess.”

Fennel placed a comforting hand on her back, rubbing it absentmindedly as she continued to stare at the grave.“That’s why you’re a scientist,” Fennel shrugged in an attempt to lighten the mood, her eyes finally traveling to the flowers, and then back up to meet Aurea’s, who was still very much concentrated on what was before her.

“Maybe,” the professor gave way to a small smile that quickly faded. “I have…all these displaced memories of her. I remember her yelling at me for bringing wild pokemon in to the house. I remember her taking me to the park and taking walks in the woods with me. I remember sitting at the lab with her and waiting for Papa to finish up so we could go somewhere…and I remember asking her about different pokemon in books and stuff, and she’d sit on my bed with me and tell me about them,” she smiled again at the list, but shook her head. “But I don’t have any one specific memory of her. I’m not even sure if the ones I do have are because Papa told me she did those things, or if I genuinely remember instances of them happening anymore.”

It had been the most revealing rambling Aurea ever went in to about her mother, or her life before traveling with her father for most of it, and it left Fennel wanting to hear more if she were going to offer it so freely. She had always been curious, hearing small mentions of a house she used to live in in Nuvema as a child in conversations with her father a few times, but it was never elaborated on and there never felt like an appropriate time to ask. “Let’s go out to dinner. For your mom’s birthday. I’d like to hear every detail of what you remember,” she reached over and took the brunette’s hand, rubbing her thumb against her palm.

“Eh, you’d have to talk to Papa about that, he remembers it all a lot better than I do. I’m sure he’d love to tell you if you asked.”

“No, I want to hear what you remember. Tell me all about your nature walks, and your room, and your books…I don’t think you ever even told me what she looks like.”

“You’ve seen pictures.”

“But I still want to hear you tell me.” Fennel kept hold of her hand, resting her chin on the professor’s shoulder, “ And come on, it’s her birthday. I’m sure she’d love it if she knew her daughter spent it telling her super awesome girlfriend all about her fond childhood memories, hm?”

The professor raised a brow at that, wanting to say something along the lines of that being one of the things that crossed her mind occasionally, in what her mother would have thought of this. But Fennel, ever the optimist, had been bent on celebrating the day rather than the circumstances they found themselves in, and maybe once she got her talking, more of the memories would come to her.


End file.
